RED SKATE CHAPTER FIVE

We took Jack's jacket to the DNA lab for testing. The Forensics Examiner, Brad, was inside, eating a salami sandwich, and reading a book. He looked up, frightened, but smiled when he saw it was us.
"You thought it was Peterson, didn't you?" laughed Cathy.
"Thank God it wasn't," answered Brad. "He probably would've reprimanded me for eating in the lab."
"What's that you're reading?" Asked Cathy, conversationally.
"Northern Lights, by Phillip Pullman. A good read. So, what can I do for you lovely ladies. Want something testing?"
"Yes," I answered, giving him the jacket. "I suppose you heard about Julia Entwistle getting murderd last night?" - Brad nodded. - "Well, we've got hold of a suspect's jacket and we want you to test the blood stains on it for us, pleae?"
"Whose blood am I testing for?" Brad asked.
"Julia's," Cathy said.
"Okay."
"ERIKKSON!" Max Peterson, Brad's assitant, entered the lab. Because he was taller and beefier than Brad, he acted as though he was Brad's boss and made his life a living Hell.
"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! STOP WORRYING THESE TWO LADIES! GET ON WITH YOUR WORK! JUST BECAUSE YOU'VE THE HOTS FOR CATHY...!"
"That's enough, Peterson!" I ordered. "We were asking Brad to test this jacket for Julia Entwistle's blood."
"Are you sure you can trust Brad with that?" Max asked with a smug smile. "You know what a klutz he is."
I gave him a sweet smile. "Of course, if you'd rather do the work yourself..."
A look of worry passed over Max's face. "Uh, no, that's okay, I'd love to, but I've got to be somewhere important." He turned and left the lab. Brad pulled an ugly face at his retreating back. And then he started muttering to himself.
"Klutz! How dare he! I'm the best Forensics Examiner for miles around! He doesn't do anything, I do all the work! And he takes the credit for everything I do!"
"When will you be able to get it done by?" I interrupted.
"Huh? Oh, tomorrow afternoon."
"We'll leave you to get on with it then," I said. "Come on, Cathy. We have some more shit to attend to."

"The next thing we have to do," I told Cathy, as we walked down the corrider. "Is to decipher when Julia actually died."
"Well, her body was discovered earlier this evening, and the ice rink's been closed all evening, so she got killed last night, didn't she?" Replied Cathy.
"Yes, but we need to interview who were at the ice rink last night, witnesses, to decide what time Julia died."
"Ah, yes, I see what you mean. What people were you thinking of interviewing?"
"Well, regulars at the rink, people who worked there. You know?"
"Yeah, I suppose."
"Would the rink be open now?"
"No, Sally, its nearly midnight."
I looked at my watch. "Oh, my God!" I exclaimed. "Already?!"
"We'll have to do it tomorrow, Sally. Now, if you don't mind, I've left Rachel in bed, and she hates being in the house on her own for too long."
"Goodnight, Cat."
"Goodnight, Sal."

The next morning, I left home for the rink. When I got there, however, it was really busy, teeming with reporters. They bustled round me when they saw me.
"Hi, you was there last night, weren't you?" "You saw the body, didn't you?"
"I wasn't a witness!" I screamed at them. "No comment!"
When I escaped from the thorns of reporters, I saw that the ice rink was closed. I decided to ring Cathy, to see if she had the results from the DNA test yet. No answer came from her mobile, it just went straight to her mobile. 'strange,' I thought. 'She always answers her phone on the second ring.'
I decided to call round to her house, just to make sure
she was OK, the only other time she didn't answer her phone was when she was ill in bed.
I got to her house, noticing that the front room window was smashed, which I found strange. I rang the doorbell, and waited, but no answer came. After ten minutes of waiting, I tried the handle; the door opened easily, which was weird, because Cathy always locks it.
I entered the house, walking down the corridor, and into the living-room. And there, I was met with a horrible sight!

What was the horrible sight Sally was met with? Find out in Chapter Six...